Be Strong and Courageous!

 

After the death of Moses the servant of the Lord, the Lord said to Joshua the son of Nun, Moses’ assistant, “Moses my servant is dead. Now therefore arise, go over this Jordan, you and all this people, into the land that I am giving to them, to the people of Israel. Every place that the sole of your foot will tread upon I have given to you, just as I promised to Moses. From the wilderness and this Lebanon as far as the great river, the river Euphrates, all the land of the Hittites to the Great Sea toward the going down of the sun shall be your territory. No man shall be able to stand before you all the days of your life. Just as I was with Moses, so I will be with you. I will not leave you or forsake you. Be strong and courageous, for you shall cause this people to inherit the land that I swore to their fathers to give them. Only be strong and very courageous, being careful to do according to all the law that Moses my servant commanded you. Do not turn from it to the right hand or to the left, that you may have good success wherever you go. This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success. Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.” (Joshua 1:1-9 ESV).

 

Moses had led Israel for forty long and sometimes difficult years (v. 6). The people had known no other leader. Now they would be going into their new land without Moses to guide them. As God appoints Joshua, he does not say, “It’s time for fresh ideas; it’s time to do things differently than Moses did. Be creative.” Rather, God says that the words of Moses are still relevant. They were right for Israel’s life with God in the desert, and they will be right for the people’s life with God in the promised land. It was not that Moses had such good ideas, but Moses had spoken the words God had given him to lead and teach Israel. To listen to Moses in the desert was to hear the Word of God. And now, though Moses had died, the Word of God would not pass away.

 

So God said to Joshua: “Be careful to obey all the law my servant Moses gave you… Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the LORD your God will be with you wherever you go” (v. 9). It is so easy in our polarized world to neglect the consistency of the word of God. This is how the writer of Hebrews puts it: Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever. Do not be led away by diverse and strange teachings, for it is good for the heart to be strengthened by grace (Hebrews 13:8-9 ESV). Today the Lord still promises to be with us—always. Jesus, the Son of God, came and fulfilled the Law of Moses, and now we know God through the Holy Spirit, who comes to live in our hearts. The Spirit helps us understand the words of Moses and all the rest of the Bible, which gives us the trustworthy Word of God. So… Be Strong and Courageous… the Lion of Judah walks with you!